I worked with someone who had something similar to the author. I worked with an Iranian developer at one of my first gigs. He said his family fled Iran after th

I worked with someone who had something similar to the author. I worked with an Iranian developer at one of my first gigs. He said his family fled Iran after the fall of the Shah because his family had been marked for death since his father was a successful businessman and owned a growing telecommunications company. When his family got here, he was just happy to be alive. His father used his technical knowledge to land a job at a computer company. He was told the same thing by his father. Work to provide for your family, then create your opportunities to do what you love. His father told him it was more important to be employed doing something, then sitting around chasing your dreams not doing anything. He said it was because he had to work menial jobs, it allowed him to go to school, get a degree, and move up in the world.